iDC BLOG

‘Arte.act: The Political Potential of Art’

at Wyspa Institute of Art
Event accompanying “Dockwatchers” exhibition

“Arte.act: The Political Potential of Art” a conference organized by ‘Krytyka Polityczna’ (‘Political Critique’) and the Wyspa Institute of Art

Curators: Magda Pustola and Aneta Szylak
Timing: September 3-4
Place: Wyspa Institute of Art / Wyspa Progress Foundation
Ul. Doki 1, building #145B
80-958 Gdansk, Poland
Phone.: (+48) 691 916 601 / (+48 58) 320 4446

www.krytykapolityczna.pl
www.wyspa.art.pl

‘Krytyka Polityczna’, Warsaw-based quarterly, and The Wyspa Institute of Art, located in the historic Gdansk Shipyard, welcomes an international and interdisciplinary group of intellectuals, artists and activists: Irit Rogoff, Stefan Nowotny, Therese Kaufmann, Aneta
Szylak, Waldemar Baraniewski, Dorota Monkiewicz, Adam Mazur, Lukasz Ronduda, Benjamin Cope, Katarzyna Bratkowska, Kinga Dunin, Magda Pustola, Slawomir Sierakowski, Maciej Gdula, Edwin Bendyk, Grzegorz Klaman, Marek Sobczyk, Mateusz Falkowski, Konrad Pustola, Grupa Twozywo,  Rene Lűck, the participants in the ‘Arte.act’ project. The conference, preceded by the ‘Dockwatchers’ exhibition, is aimed at  verifying the subversive potential of art in contemporary Poland.  ‘Arte.act’ refers to politicization of culture, power relations organizing the cultural field, and emancipatory character of artistic activities.

As the appropriation of culture in Poland have been constantly reinforced and have become highly destructive, Magda Pustola and Aneta Szylak, the curators, want to reverse the process so that art can seize politics. Together with other participants in the ‘Arte.act’ project, they want to verify what is the real influence of art, and whether it is worth thinking of art as an efficient instrument for political action today.

Is art a pre- or non-political method of doing politics? Or just one of the technologies of power, of regulatory techniques, with artists as politicians’ direct competitors? Why everybody wants art to be political? Is art able to create a space where political means
alternative, not instrumental? Happening alongside the official celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Solidarity, the conference intellectually comments on this one of the most symbolically and politically charged events in Polish history. It uses works presented at the ‘Dockwatchers’ exhibition as a direct point of departure for the debate.

The funding has been provided by the Minister of Culture, The Foundation of Janusz Palikot, Austrian Cultural Forum, the Communication Unlimited advertisement agency,  Lot Polish Airlines, Polmos Jozefow and the publishing house Słowo/obraz terytoria.

Immaterial Labour, Multitudes and New Social Subjects: Class Composition in Cognitive Capitalism

From:  stevphen shukaitis (by way of Ned Rosssiter from spectre

 Papers are invited for a conference:

"Immaterial Labour, Multitudes and New Social Subjects: Class  Composition in Cognitive Capitalism"

Venue:
University of Cambridge, UK:

Location:
to be announced.

Date:
Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 April 2006

Among other themes the conference will address issues of cognitive  capitalism, class composition, new social subjects, the knowledge economy and immaterial labour. Papers will be provided in advance of the conference. They will be  translated into English. They will be circulated via the medium of website and internet mailing lists. The papers will eventually be published in book form. Conference organised under the aegis of “Universitas adversitatis”, a peripatetic university. Supported by the Uninomade network. With possible involvement of other organising bodies. A full prospectus for the conference is being prepared. For proposals of papers, and for participation in the conference, 

further details from: Ed Emery [Class Composition Conference]

Peterhouse Cambridge CB2 1RD
E-mail: [email protected]

Creative Research and Collaboration Conference in New Zealand

SPARK 05 - Wintec, Hamilton, New Zealand Saturday 27th August 2005 10am-5pm ŒCreative Research & Collaboration¹ is a one-day forum that will explore key issues relating to creative practice as research and creative collaborations by practitioners from across the sector. Featuring two keynote presentations by Professor Paul Carter, University of Melbourne, and Professor Sally J Morgan, Massey University, followed by two panel discussions chaired by Tim Walker and Rob Garrett, the forum will encourage debate, discussion and understanding relating to creative research, research methodologies, collaborative practices, and the impact of the PBRF on the creative sector. The forum will be useful to all creative practitioners working in the sector including artists, academics, creative practitioners, policy makers, curators and administrators. www.spark.mediarts.net.nz

Ethnic minority presence in cyberspace

New Book:

VIRTUAL ETHNICITY: RACE, RESISTANCE & THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Where is the ethnic minority presence in cyberspace? In this book, Linda Leung makes a pioneering exploration of ethnic minority presence in cyberspace. She finds that despite the apparent white, Western, male, middle class profile of cyberspace, there is significant ethnic minority activity. The work draws on the author‚s empirical research amongst ethnic minority women and incorporates discussion of media and web-texts from the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. This is a fascinating interdisciplinary examination of the web-participation of ethnic communities, which sheds light on how ethnic identities are articulated in cyberspace and contemporary society in both predictable and surprising ways.